“I have made a concerted effort with some success to master my temper.”
Good for you. My mom said that my dad had a terrible temper. I didn’t believe her, he never raised his voice, etc. He’d talk and explain and punish.
Until one day I locked the door on my room and didn’t want to talk about something bad that I had done. (No recollection of what that was). Dad said how are we going to talk if you don’t open the door?
“I’m not opening it!”
BOOM. The frame splintered and the door busted open. And all 6 feet and 150 pounds of my dad followed.
“Now sit on your bed so we can talk about this.”
That was the first and last time me dad ever displayed his temper at me. Of course what was even worse was when he would start of with “I’m really disappointed in your behaviour....”
I admire your dad, because that is a hard thing, to learn to govern your emotions. When I get angry, I get irrational and blind, much like a bull having a red cape waved in front of it.
Of all my personality traits I wish I could improve or change, that is at the top.
So I recognize the wrestling your dad must have done to gain mastery and control his temper, instead o letting it master and control him!